University  of 

lllincis  Library 

at  Urbana-Champaign 


ACE 


640 

IL61b 

v.10:25 


-- ( 


JSITY   OF    ILLINOIS    BULLETIN 


IsscED  Weekly 
March  17, 1013 


No.  25 


[Entered  as  second-class  matter  December  11,  1912,  at  ;lie  Post  Office  at  Urbana,   liliaols. 
under  the  Act  of  Coiijfress  of  August  24,  1912  1 


Department  of  Home  Economics 

Some  Points  in  the  Making 
and  Judging  of  Bread 


By 


Isabel  Bevier,  Ph.  M. 


First  Edition,  1913 

FOUBTH   KolTION,    1920 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS.  UEBANA 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 

ACES 


PREFACE 

For  many  years  the  Household  Science  Department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Illinois  has  been  interested  in  various  phases  of  the  bread 
question,  and  members  of  the  Department,  both  faculty  and  students, 
have  worked  with  bread.  Much  of  the  earlier  work  was  done  by  Miss 
Anna  VanMeter,  Miss  Ruth  A.  Wardall,  and  Miss  Carolyn  Busey, 
under  the  direction  of  the  author;  the  later  work  largely  by  Miss 
Katherine  Jensen  and  Miss  Anna  Williams,  under  the  direct  super- 
vision of  Dr.  N.  E.  Goldtlnvaite.  This  bulletin  has  been  prepared  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  together  the  results  of  these  experiments. 

Note  to  Fourth  EorrioN. — The  war  taught  people  a  great  deal 
about  the  use  of  flour  and  flour  substitutes,  and  particularly  that  good 
breads  could  be  made  with  a  large  proportion  of  other  ingredients 
than  the  flour  of  hard  spring  wheat.  The  war  also  emphasized  the 
economic  importance  of  using  home-grown  products.  According  to 
the  Report  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  in  1918  Illinois  pro- 
duced 40,498,958  bushels  of  wheat  of  the  variety  known  as  winter 
wheat.  This  yields  what  is  known  in  common  terms  as  a  soft  wheat 
flour.  Since  this  wheat  is  a  home-grown  product,  and  experiments 
have  shown  that  a  very  good  type  of  bread  can  be  made  from  it,  its 
use  in  bread  making  should  be  encouraged.  Pages  30  and  31  give 
the  methods  for  using  a  soft  wheat  flour. 

While  the  processes  and  technic  of  bread  making  in  the  home  and 
some  of  the  physical  and  chemical  problems  involved,  as  discussed  in 
the  following  pages,  have  not  been  changed  materially,  yet  in  the  last 
few  years  modern  industry  has  developed  bread  making  on  a  tre- 
mendous commercial  scale,  and,  as  a  result,  considerable  addition  has 
been  made  to  our  knowledge  of  the  processes  along  the  lines  of  phys- 
ical and  biological  chemistry.  For  those  interested  in  these  phases 
of  the  subject,  the  following  references  are  given. 

Elizabeth  Sprague,  "Study  of  Yeast  Breads  with  Substitute  Flours," 
Journal  of  Home  Economics,  June,  1918,  p.  272-9. 

Emil  Braun,  "The  Best  Ways  to  Use  Substitutes,"  The  Northwestern 
Miller,  September  25,  1918,  p.  1063. 

E.  J.  Cohn  and  L.  J.  Henderson,  "The  Physical  Chemistry  of  Bread," 
Science,  November  22,   1918,  p.  501-5. 

Kobcrt  Kennedy  Duncan,  "Some  Chemical  Problems  of  Today,"  p.  143-161, 
231,  237. 

Caroline  L.  Hunt  and  Hannah  L.  Wessling.  "Bread  and  Bread  Making  in 
the  Home,"  Farmers'  Bulletin  807,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Isabel  Bevier 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 

Preface    3 

Responsibility  of  Women  as  EegarJs  Bread  Standards 5 

Types  of  Flour   6 

Terms  Used   7 

Bread  as  Food 7 

Chemical  Composition  of  Wheat,  Flour,  Bread 9 

Changes  Produced  in  Making  Bread 9 

Characteristics  of  Good  Bread , 10 

Essential  and  Non-essential  Factors 11 

Recipes    12 

Study  of  Essential  Ingredients 13 

Yeast     13 

Liquid    18 

Study  of  Non-essential  Ingredients 19 

Salt — Influence    19 

Sugar — Influence     20 

Salt  and  Sugar — Combined  Influence , 20 

Bread  making   26 

Time  of  Fermentation   27 

Bulk  of  Dough 28 

Baking     28 

Material  of  Pans   29 

Covered  and  Uncovered  Pans 29 

Use  of  Winter  Wheat  Flour 30 

Score  Cards  for  Bread 31 

Williams,  Anna   32 

Jensen,  Katherine 32 

Simmons,  Owen 40 

Bevier,  Isabel 

Original     31 

Revised    33 

Explanations    33 

Summary , 35 


SOME  POINTS  IN  THE  MAKING  AND 
JUDGING  OF  BREAD 

"Bread  is  the  staff  of  life."  This  old  and  familiar  statement  rep- 
resents a  universal  idea,  for,  in  whatever  terms  it  may  be  expressed, 
there  is  very  general  agreement  as  to  the  value  as  food  of  some  form 
of  bread.  The  German,  the  Frenchman,  the  Englishman,  and  the 
American  may  have  in  mind  a  very  different  product,  yet  each  of 
them  would  agree  to  the  general  statement. 

Aside  from  its  value  as  food  and  its  vast  commercial  importance, 
bread  has  a  peculiar  interest  to  women  because,  while  many  primitive 
industries  have  gone  from  the  home,  statistics'  seem  to  show  that  sev- 
enty percent  of  the  bread  used  in  the  United  States  is  made  in  the  home. 
If  this  statement  be  true,  it  indicates  at  once  the  responsibiliy  of  the 
American  housekeeper  for  the  standard  of  bread  and  her  opportunity 
to  influence  that  standard.  If  she  is  to  meet  this  responsibility  wisely 
and  well,  knowledge  of  various  kinds  about  bread  is  demanded  of  her. 
She  must  laiow  its  sources,  its  value  as  food,  the  factors  of  bread  mak- 
ing, the  cost  in  time,  energy  and  materials.  In  short  she  must  have 
an  ideal  of  what  good  bread  is  and  be  familiar  with  the  details  of  the 
process  by  which  it  may  be  obtained.  She  must  be  able  to  recognize 
essentials  and  non-essentials  in  the  process.  The  Book  of  Bread,^  for 
example,  gives  some  three  hundred  recipes  for  making  bread  and  all 
of  them  agree  that  to  obtain  desirable  results,  yeast  and  flour  must 
be  in  good  condition  and  must  be  kept  at  a  proper  temperature 
throughout  the  process. 

This  bulletin  proposes  to  deal  with  but  two  of  the  innumerable 
types  of  bread  to  be  found :  first,  that  made  from  the  flour  obtained 
from  spring  wheat,  and,  second,  that  made  from  the  flour  obtained 
from  winter  wheat. 

The  study  of  a  product  so  familiar  as  bread  develops  many  sur- 
prising points  of  ignorance  about  it.  For  example,  questions  such  as, 
how  much  bread  ought  to  be  obtained  from  a  pound  of  flour,  do  you 
use  spring  or  winter  wheat  flour  in  this  region,  usually  bring  to  light 
the  fact  that  women  in  general  are  quite  ignorant  on  these  two  points ; 
yet  everyone  recognizes  that  any  true  estimate  of  the  actual  cost  of 


'Lafayette  B.  Mendel,  "Changes  in  the  Food  Supply  and  their  Eelation  to 
Nutrition,"  p.  33. 

'Owen  Simmons,  "Book  of  Bread." 


6  University  of  Illinois  Bulletin  [March, 

bread  implies  a  knowledge  of  the  yield  of  a  pound  of  flour  in  bread, 
and  bakers  know  that,  in  order  to  attain  desirable  results,  these  two 
varieties  of  wheat  flour  require  quite  different  treatment  in  the  pro- 
cess of  bread  making. 

TYPES  OF  WHEAT  FLOUR 

Let  us  understand  then  the  general  differences  in  these  two  types 
of  flour  in  regard  to  source  and  properties.  (The  bread-making  pro- 
cesses adapted  to  the  two  kinds  will  be  discussed  later.)  Winter 
wheat  is  that  type  sown  in  the  fall  and  harvested  in  the  early  summer. 
It  is  grown  usually  in  the  central  and  eastern  parts  ol  the  United 
States  where  the  winters  are  not  severe  enough  to  destroy  the  crop, 
while  spring  wheat  is  the  type  grown  largely  in  the  northwestern  parts 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  In  general,  the  grains  differ  in  ap- 
pearance: the  spring  wheat  type  is  harder,  yields  a  flour  that  has  a 
granular  feel,  has  a  larger  proportion  of  gluten,  will  absorb  more 
water  and  is  known  as  a  * '  strong,  hard  wheat  flour. ' '  In  distinction 
from  this,  the  grains  from  winter  wheat  are  larger,  softer,  the  flour 
has  a  powdery  feel,  a  smaller  percentage  of  gluten  and  a  larger  per- 
centage of  starch,  and  is  known  as  a  ' '  soft  flour. ' ' 

THE  FEEL  OF  FLOUR 

The  woman  who  handles  flour  readily  distinguishes  this  difference 
in  feel,  but  she  does  not  learn  to  interpret  this  difference  in  terms  of 
a  bread  recipe, — that  is,  she  does  not  understand  that  the  granular 
onq  will  take  up  more  water,  or,  to  put  it  another  way,  that  spring 
wheat  flour  will  require  less  flour  to  a  given  quantity  of  liquid  than  a 
winter  wheat  flour.  She  does  not  understand  that  the  manufacturer 's 
claim  that  the  housekeeper  can  save  flour  by  using  his  variety  is 
based  upon  just  this  fact  of  the  difference  between  spring  and  win- 
ter wheat  in  this  power  to  absorb  water.  She  needs  to  know  the  cost 
per  sack  of  each  variety  in  her  market  and  the  yield  in  bread  of  each 
before  she  can  tell  which  is  really  the  cheaper  for  her. 

-       THE  COLOR  OF  FLOUR 

Perhaps  next  to  feel  in  the  understanding  of  the  home  baker 
comes  color  in  flour.  Now  that  bleaching  of  flour  is  forbidden  by 
law,  one  is  more  likely  to  find  on  the  market  flour  of  a  creamy  color. 
If  it  is  very  white  or  grayish,  it  indicates  that  the  flour  probably  is 
not  new,  and  that  it  contains  a  large  proportion  of  starch.  Age  has 
a  tendency  to  lessen  the  color.  Moreover,  neiv  flour  from  spring  wheat 
is  apt  to  have  more  of  the  creamy  color  than  that  made  from  winter 


i^iS]  Some  Toixts  in  the  Making  and  Judoing  op  Bread  7 

wheat,  because  of  the  larger  proportion  of  gluten  in  the  former,  and 
the  larger  proportion  of  starch  in  the  latter.  In  any  case,  a  dull  gray 
color  does  not  indicate  a  good  flour  for  bread  making.  Neither  is  it 
true  that  a  deep  cream  colored  flour  will  not  yield  an  excellent  quality 
of  bread.  The  world  has  been  slow  to  learn  that  whiteness  is  not  nec- 
essarily a  mark  of  excellence  in  quality  in  bread.  Whiteness  has 
sometimes  indicated  the  use  of  flour  bleached  either  by  age  or  by 
chemicals. 

TERMS   USED 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  it  is  desirable  for  the  woman  who  bakes  to 
understand  the  use  and  meaning  of  the  terms  feel,  color,  gluten,  and 
strength  as  applied  to  flour,  and  their  influence  upon  the  bread  mak- 
ing process.  She  can  have  first-hand  information  in  regard  to  gluten 
and  strength  by  a  very  simple  experiment. 

Take  a  cup  of  any  two  flours  which  are  to  be  compared.  Measure 
the  amount  of  w^ater  required  to  make  each  of  these  into  a  dough  of 
the  same  consistency.  This  will  give  an  idea  of  their  power  to  absorb 
water.  That  is  one  of  the  differences  between  a  strong  and  a  iveak 
flour.  Let  these  doughs  stand  for  an  hour.  Empty  each  upon  a  sep- 
arate square  of  cheese  cloth,  place  over  a  colander  or  strainer,  and 
wash  under  running  water.  The  starch  will  go  through  the  cheese 
cloth  and  the  threads  of  gluten  will  remain  on  the  cloth.  When  the 
water  goes  through  clear,  presumably  all  the  starch  has  been  washed 
out  and  the  wet  gluten  is  left.  Roll  the  gluten  into  a  ball  and  then 
stretch  to  show  difference  in  elasticity.  Weigh  to  get  difference  in 
wet  gluten. 

While  one  experiment  is  not  conclusive,  yet  by  these  simple  tests 
one  may  become  familiar  with  the  physical  properties  of  flour  and 
learn  to  understand  the  terms  color  and  feel  as  applied  to  flour  and 
their  probable  influence  on  the  bread  made  from  that  flour.  One  will 
also  understand  the  difference  in  gluten,  whether  it  is  elastic  or  not, 
and  can  judge  something  of  its  ability  to  expand  as  a  framework  for 
the  loaf  of  bread.  This  difference  between  a  strong  and  a  weak  flour 
is  an  important  one  from  the  economic  standpoint.  The  strong  flour 
absorbs  more  water  and  yields  a  loaf  that  weighs  more.  Flours  differ 
considerably  in  this  respect.  In  the  writer's  experience,  a  pound  of 
flour  has  yielded  in  bread  fi'om  1.25  to  1.65  pounds.  Bakers  con- 
sider that  11/3  pounds  of  bread  from  a  pound  of  flour  is  a  fair  average 
yield. 

BREAD  AS  FOOD 

The  prime  object  in  bread  making  is  to  secure  a  nutritious,  pala- 
table, and  attractive  form  of  food.     The  value  of  the  cereals  as  food 


8 


Uni-versity  of  Illinois  Bulletin 


[March, 


is  well  understood.  It  is  known  that  when  properly  cooked,  the 
cereals  yield  a  large  amount  of  easily  digested  food  for  a  compara- 
tively small  sum  of  money.  One  thinks  of  cereals,  and  rightly,  as  the 
chief  source  of  starchy  food,  but  the  peculiar  value  of  wheat  bread 
lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  one  of  the  cheapest  sources  of  protein.  Again 
this  form  of  protein  known  as  gluten  which  occurs  in  wheat  flour  en- 
hances the  value  of  the  flour  because  the  gluten  has  the  property  of 
expanding  and  serving  as  a  framework  for  the  retention  of  air  or 
carbon-dioxide.  Because  this  quality  is  lacking  in  the  protein  of 
corn  and  oats,  neither  of  these  grains  is  extensively  used  for  bread. 
The  value  of  a  flour,  then,  for  bread  depends  upon  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  its  gluten  and  upon  its  strength,  and  this  latter  quality  is 
usually  judged  by  its  capacity  to  absorb  water.  Large  bakeries  con- 
duct experiments  constantly  to  find  just  the  blend  of  flour  that  will 
absorb  the  greatest  amount  of  water,  or,  in  other  words,  yield  the 
greatest  amount  of  bread,  or  take  and  retain  water. 

CHEAP  FOOD  AND  DEAR  FOOD 

It  has  been  understood  for  a  long  time  that  the  terms  cheap  and 
dear  as  applied  to  foods  include  not  only  the  amount  of  money  ex- 
pended but  also  the  quantity  of  nutritive  materials  secured  for  a 
given  sum,  or,  to  put  it  in  another  way,  the  quantity  of  building 
material  (protein)  and  energy  (calories)  that  can  be  secured.  The 
following  table  shows  how  favorably  bread  compares  with  other  food 
stuffs  as  regards  energy. 

Amounts  of  Common  Foods  Equivalent  in  Energy    (1174  Calories)  to 

One  Pound  of  Bread 


Food  as  purchased 

Weight, 
grams 

Measure 

Cost  per  1174 
calories 

Market  price 
Mch.  1,  1920 

Bread 

453.6 

295.8 

340.4 

334.5 

152.6 

1696.4 

1755.1 

267.7 

459.0 

751.4 

3354.1 

2672.0 

3173.0 

I  lb.  loaf 
3%  cups 
1%  cups 
1%  cups 
7  cu.  in. 
m  qts. 

II  large 
91/^  oz. 

1  lb. 
1%  lbs. 
6%  lbs. 
5%  lbs. 
14  large 

$  .1000 
.0670 
.0823 
.1475 
.2421 
.2607 
.2709 
.2832 
.3504 
.4971 
.6655 
.7069 
.9900 

$   .10  lb. 

Rolled  oats 

.  1037  lb. 

Beans,  navy 

.11  lb. 

Rice 

.20  lb. 

Butter 

.72  1b. 

Milk 

.15  qt. 
.07  lb. 

Potatoes 

Cheese 

.48  1b. 

Prunes 

.35  lb. 

Beef,  round 

.30  1b. 

Carrots 

.  09  lb. 

Onions 

.  12  lb. 

Oranges 

.85doz. 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  even  with  the  present  high  prices 
10  cents'  worth  of  bread  yields  as  much  energy  (calories)  as  24  cents' 


1 


1913] 


Some  Points  in  the  Making  and  Judging  of  Bread 


worth  of  butter,  27  cents'  of  potatoes,  35  cents'  of  prunes,  or  50  cents' 
of  beef.  The  only  foods  listed  which  are  less  expensive  sources  of 
energy  arc  rolled  oats  and  beans,  both  of  which  require  a  considerable 
expenditure  of  time  and  fuel  in  preparation. 

CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION 

The  relation  between  the  chemical  composition  of  spring  and  win- 
ter wheats,  as  well  as  wheat,  flour,  and  bread,  is  shown  by  the  following 
figures : 


Water     Protein 


Fat 


Carl)ohy(lrates       Ash 


nVhcat 

Spring   varieties 

Winter  varieties 

'Flour 

Minnesota    Standard    Patent 

Bread  from  Minnesota  Stan- 
dard   Patent    

'Bread — Average  of 

198  analvf-es    


10.4 

12.5 

2  2 

10.5 

11.8 

2.1 

10.,54 

11.99 

1.61 

34.1 

9. 

1.30 

35.3 

9.2 

1.3 

73. 
73.8 

75.36 

54.9 

53.1 


1.9 

1.8 

.5 

.7 

1.1 


'Helen  W.   Atwater,   "Bread   and   Bread  Making,' 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  p.  16. 
=Ibid.,  p.  41.     ^Ibid.,  p.  38. 


Farmers'   Bulletin   389, 


Climate,  soil,  and  rainfall  influence  the  composition  of  both  wheat 
and  flour,  so  the  figures  showing  the  chemical  compositions  vary.  One 
hundred  and  ninety-eight  analyses  of  bread  give  a  fair  average  of  its 
chemical  composition.  For  practical  purposes  one  would  do  well  to 
remember  that,  chemically  speaking,  bread  is  approximately  one-third 
water,  one-tenth  protein,  and  one-half  starch. 

It  is  evident  from  the  above  table  that  various  changes  are  wrought 
in  converting  wheat  into  flour  and  flour  into  bread.  These  changes 
arc  greatest  in  the  conversion  of  flour  into  bread.  The  process  of 
bread  making  is  accomplished  by  the  addition  of  a  liquid — milk,  water, 
or  potato  water — and  yeast  to  the  flour.  Usually  fat,  sugar,  and  salt 
are  added  also.  The  flour,  by  the  addition  of  the  liquid,  is  converted 
into  dough.  The  yeast  cells  are  separated  and  distributed  through 
the  mass  of  the  dough.  The  yeasts  grow  and  multiply,  and  in  the 
process  of  their  growth  some  of  the  starch  of  the  flour  is  changed  into 
sugar;  carbon-dioxide  and  alcohol  are  formed  from  the  sugar.  The 
distribution  of  this  carbon-dioxide  through  the  mass  makes  it  light. 
Gas  cavities  are  formed  throughout  the  dough  in  the  process  of  rising, 
and  it  is  upon  the  number,  size,  and  distribution  of  these  cavities  that 
the  lightness  and  grain  of  the  bread  depends. 

When  the  loaf  is  baked,  the  heat  of  the  oven  causes  the  gas  to  ex- 
pand, the  alcohol  to  be  driven  off,  the  protein  to  coagulate  and  set, 
forming  tho  walls  of  these  cavities  and  a  framework,  as  it  were,  for 


10  University  of  Illinois  Bulletin  [March, 

the  loaf.  Some  of  the  starch  is  changed  into  dextrin.  Thus  the  crust  is 
formed.  It  is  the  dextrin  which  gives  the  crust  its  glazed  appearance. 
As  shown  by  the  chemical  composition  given  above,  there  is  a  large 
gain  in  the  proportion  of  water  in  the  bread,  and  a  small  loss  in  nutri- 
tive material  due  to  the  conversion  of  the  starch  into  alcohol  and  the 
changes  wrought  in  the  protein  and  fat, 

CHARACTERISTICS   OF  GOOD  BREAD 

It  is  perhaps  well  at  this  point  to  give  what  are  regarded  as  the 
characteristics  of  a  good  loaf  of  bread.  Authorities,  as  Simmons' 
Book  of  Bread,  Jago's  Technology  of  Bread  Making,  and  United 
States  Government  Reports,  agree  quite  generally  in  the  character- 
istics of  good  bread. 

1.  Symmetry  of  Sliape. — The  size  should  be  such  that  the  crust 
will  not  be  baked  too  hard  in  order  to  bake  the  crumb  thoroughly.  It 
is  just  at  this  point  that  the  busy  housewife  often  fails.  In  her  de- 
sire to  get  a  large  quantity  of  bread  ready  for  the  workmen  who  are 
with  her,  she  uses  the  dripping  pan,  puts  into  it  three  loaves  so  as  to 
gain  space  in  the  oven,  and  does  not  realize  that  in  order  to  bake  the 
center  loaf  the  heat  must  penetrate  that  mass  of  moist  dough,  which  is 
not  nearly  so  good  a  conductor  of  heat  as  the  metal  of  the  pan  which 
is  on  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  end  loaves,  so,  as  a  frequent  result, 
the  end  loaves  are  scorched  before  the  middle  one  is  baked. 

Better  results  in  baking  can  be  obtained  by  the  use  of  smaller  pans 
which  can  be  moved  about,  because  most  ovens  have  a  different  tem- 
perature in  the  center  than  at  the  edges,  and  if  single  pans  are  used, 
or,  at  most,  those  which  hold  but  two  loaves,  a  more  even  crust  and  a 
better  baked  crumb  can  be  obtained ;  and  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
the  crust  is  the  most  easily  digested  part  of  the  bread,  and  that  under- 
done, soggy  crumb  is  very  indigestible. 

2.  Crust. — As  regards  the  crust,  there  is  considerable  difference 
of  opinion  concerning  the  depth  of  color,  some  preferring  a  deep 
golden  brown,  others  a  very  light  shade,  but  all  like  a  uniform  color 
over  the  whole  loaf  and  a  certain  crisp  quality  obtained  from  a  slack 
dough  well  aerated  and  quickly  baked. 

Simmons  says: 

"These  surface  cracks  or  lines  are  a  sig^n  of  quality  and  are  formed  usually 
when  the  dough  is  cooling  and  give  the  crackling  sound  regarded  as  a  sign  of  good 
bread.  A  tough,  leathery  crust  may  mean  an  immature  dough,  that  is,  dough  not 
sufficiently  fermented  or  a  crust  rendered  thick  and  hard  by  a  cold  oven.  A  crackly, 
pliable,  thin  crust  indicates  a  su2)erior  loaf. ' ' 

3.  Crumh. — Many  qualities  are  demanded  of  the  crumb  of  good 
bread.    It  must  feel  and  look  light,  have  the  gas  cavities  evenly  distri- 


1913]  Some  Points  in  the  Making  and  Judging  of  Bread  11 

butod  and  of  small  size,  with  thin  and  delicate  cell  walls.  Bakers 
say  tliat  the  gas  cavities  should  be  oblonj?  in  shape  rather  than  round. 
There  must  be  no  hea\y  streaks  at  the  sides  or  bottom  of  the  loaf,  no 
marks  of  bad  kneading  or  chilling.  There  must  be  elasticity,  so  that 
the  {)ai't  will  resume  its  orginal  shape  after  pressure  is  removed.  The 
crumb  must  be  tender,  neither  crumbly  nor  doughy.  As  said  before, 
creaminess  in  color  is  to  "be  preferred  to  Avhitcness,  and,  above  all, 
good  bread  should  have  the  flavor  of  the  wheat  grain, — should  give 
the  characteristic  taste  of  the  wheat  grain  when  chewed. 

ESSENTIAL  FACTORS 

Even  a  superficial  study  of  bread  reveals  that  here,  as  in  most 
processes  and  products,  there  arc  essential  and  non-essential  ingre- 
dients. One  finds  very  general  agreement  that  flour,  yeast,  and  liquid 
are  essential  ingredients,  while  sugar,  shortening,  and  salt,  though  de- 
si  ral)le,  cannot  be  considered  as  essential  to  the  production  of  a  loaf 
of  bread. 

RECIPES 

In  order  to  secure  the  consensus  of  opinion  by  those  in  authority 
in  regard  to  these  ingredients,  the  amount  and  proportion  of  them 
used  in  bread,  ]\Iiss  Jensen  compiled  from  standard  cook  books  twelve 
recipes  for  the  making  of  bread,  and  tabulated  the  amounts  of  es- 
sential and  non-essential  ingredients  which  the  different  authorities 
asked  for.    The  results  are  shown  in  the  table  on  page  12. 

DISCUSSION  OF  TABLE 

Evidently  most  authorities  prefer  to  use  three  cups  of  flour  to  one 
of  li([uid;  only  two  suggest  a  different  proportion;  water  has  the  pref- 
erence as  the  liquid,  though  five  suggest  the  use  of  milk;  the  amount 
of  yeast  used  varies  considerably,  from  one-eighth  to  one  and  one- 
half  cakes  per  loaf;  shortening  varies  from  none  to  six  teaspoonfuls, 
but  five  omit  it  altogether;  sugar  is  omitted  by  three,  while  the  nine 
others  vary  the  amount  from  one-half  to  three  teaspoonfuls.  "While 
no  recipe  omits  salt,  there  is  less  variation  in  the  amounts  used,  viz., 
one-eighth  to  one  teaspoonful. 

One  should  observe  not  only  the  actual  amounts  used,  but  also 
the  relation  these  three  ingi'edients,  shortening,  sugar,  and  salt,  sus- 
tain to  each  other.  Three  recipes  omit  shortening  and  sugar  entirely, 
two  recipes  call  for  equal  measures  of  sugar  and  salt,  but  there  is 
quite  general  agreement  in  the  idea  that  the  measure  of  sugar  should 
exceed  that  of  the  salt  (in  one  case  six  times  as  much),  while  in  six 
cases  the  quantity  of  the  shortening  exceeds  that  of  both  sugar  and 
salt.  After  looking  at  such  a  table,  the  (luestion  arises,  what  influence 


12 


University  of  Illinois  Bulletin 
^Bread  Eecipes   (One  Loaf) 


[March, 


References 


Young  Housekeeper  (Parloa) .  . 

Kitchen  Companion   (Parloa) .  . 

Lowney's  Cook  Book  (Howard) 

Boston  Cooking  School 

(Farmer)      


Vegetable  Cookery  (Eorer)  .... 

Practical  Cooking  and   Serving 
(Hill)    


American  School  of  Home  Eco- 
nomics     


Theory  and   Practice   of  Cook- 
ery (Williams  and  Fisher) .  . 


Mrs.  Alice  Kirk,  of  Cleveland.  . 

Home  Science  Cook  Book  (Lin- 
coln and  Barrows)   


The  Art  of  Cookery  (Ewing) .  . 

Selection    and    Preparation    of 
Food  (Bevier  and  VanMeter) 


Flour 


Liquid 


Yeast 


Shorten- 
ing 


Sugar      Salt 


cups 
4 

3^ 
3 


cups 
1  water 

1  water 

1  water 

1  water 
1  water 

1  water 


%  milk 
V^  water 

1/2  milk 
%  water 

1/2  milk 
Y2  water 

Milk  or 
1/2  milk 
%  water 

1/2  milk 
%  water 

1  water 


cakes 

V2 

Vs 
% 

Ve-iyo 


tsp. 
3 

0 

3 

3 

0 


tsp. 
1 

% 

IV2 

iy2 
0 


3% 
0 

V2 

0 

2 


tsp. 

1/2 
% 
1 

% 
% 

% 

1 

V2 
V2 
% 

V2 
1 


^Catherine  Jensen,  Master's  Thesis  1912,  A  Critical  Study  of  the  Materials 
and  of  Some  of  the  Processes  Used  in  Bread  Making,  p.  20. 

have  the  quantity  and  quality  of  yeast,  and  the  proportion  of  short- 
ening, sugar,  and  salt  on  the  final  product,  the  loaf  of  bread.  Fortu- 
nately, an  answer  to  these  questions  is  found  on  consulting  further 
the  work  of  these  students. 

RECIPE  USED 

^The  recipe  and  method  of  procedure  by  Miss  Williams  Avere  as 
follows : 

Salt    1  tsp.     (6  g.) 

Sugar     1  tsp.       (5  g.) 

Butter    1  tsp.      (5  g.) 

Water     1  cup   (260.  c.c.) 

Compressed  yeast    %  cnp      (7  g.) 

Gold  Medal  Flour 3.6  cups  (440  g.') 

'Anna  W.  Williams,  Master's  Thesis,  1912,  "  A  Study  of  the  Factors  of  Bread 
Making  with  a  View  to  Determination  of  Standards,  "p.  3. 

*There  are  453.6  grams  in  one  pound,  so  this  was  a  little  less  than  one  pound. 


1913]  Some  Points  in  the  Making  and  Judging  of  Bread  13 

"The  Clip  of  water,  havinjj  licon  measured  at  room  tPiii])eraturo,  was  wanned 
to  42°  C.  (1()7.G°  F.)  ;  three-fourths  of  it  was  added  to  the  Itiitter,  nalt  and  sugar, 
in  a  mixing  bowl,  and  one-fourth  of  it  was  used  to  soften  the  .veast.  The  yeast 
mixture  was  added  to  the  liquid  in  the  l)0wl;  then  the  flour,  slightly  warmed,  was 
beateu  in  gradually.  The  dough  was  kneaded  for  20  minutes,  and  put  to  rise  at 
2G°  C.  (78.8°  F.),  until  doubled  in  bulk.  It  was  then  made  into  a  loaf  and 
again  put  to  rise  until  doubled  in  bulk  in  the  pan.  In  many  cases  three  risings, 
instead  of  two,  were  allowed.  The  loaf  was  baked  in  a  gas  range  for  45  minutes. 
The  oven  temperature  most  used  was  180°  C.  (356°  F.)  for  10  minutes, 
180°-235°  C.  (35()°-455°  F.)  rising  very  gradually  during  15  minutes,  and  218°  C. 
(424.4°  F.)  for  20  minutes.     The  size  of  the  pan  was  8i^x3i4x3  inches." 

PROCESSES 

"This  method,  termed  the  short  process,  required  six  or  seven  hours  for 
completion  acconling  as  to  whether  two  or  three  rising  were  allowed.  The  changes 
in  niethoil  which  were  made  in  order  to  produce  a  long-process  bread  were  as  fol- 
lows: (1)  One-fourth  of  a  cake  of  dry  yeast  was  used,  instead  of  compressed 
yeast.  (2)  The  ingredients  were  mixed  at  night,  only  IV2  cups  of  flour  -being 
used;  this  sponge  was  thoroughly  beaten  and  placed  at  21°  C.  (69.8°  F.)  to  fer- 
ment over  night.  In  the  morning  the  remainder  of  the  flour  was  worked  in,  and 
the  resulting  dough  allowed  two  subsequent  risings. ' ' 

There  seems  evident  gain  in  reducing  the  time  of  the  process  of 
bread  making.  In  fact,  one  great  reason  for  the  extensive  use  of  com- 
pressed yeast  is  that  its  use  enables  tho  bread  maker  to  complete  the 
entire  process  in  from  five  to  seven  hours.  This  avoids  the  difficulty 
that  frequently  arises  of  keeping  the  sponge  warm  at  night,  and  since 
this  is  sometimes  accomplished  by  the  unsanitary  method  of  wrapping 
the  pan  containing  the  bread  in  a  woolen  shawl  or  blanket,  soiled  by 
use,  it  is  desirable  to  find  a  method  involving  less  risk  to  the  flavor  of 
the  bread. 

The  five  or  seven-hour  process  allows  the  whole  work  to  be  accom- 
plished in  the  daylight,  while  the  housewife  is  carrying  on  the  day's 
work  and  the  maintenance  of  the  proper  temperature  for  the  bread  is 
a  necessary  accompaniment  of  other  operations  in  the  kitchen.  In  the 
short  process,  compressed  yeast  was  used  because  it  facilitates  meas- 
uring the  quantity  used. 

'  Study  of  Essential  Ingredients 

YEAST 

The  usual  forms  of  yeast  on  the  market  are  compressed  and  dry 
yeast.  Liquid  yeast  can  be  secured  at  most  bake  shops,  from  which 
some  women  prefer  to  secure  it  as  needed,  while  others  prefer  to  make 
it  in  their  own  homes  or  to  buy  in  the  market  one  of  the  two  forms  to 
be  found  there.  In  any  case,  all  women  recognize  that  the  essential 
part  of  the  product  is  the  yeast  plant,  which,  in  the  dried  cake,  may 
be  combined  with  corn  meal  as  a  carrier,     (Sometimes  the  flavor  of 


14  University  of  Illinois  Bulletin  [March^ 

the  bread  is  spoiled  by  the  rancidity  of  the  corn  meal  used.)  "Com- 
pressed yeast"  is  a  term  applied  to  yeasts  grown  in  a  special  way, 
purified  by  repeated  washing,  and  compressed  into  cakes  by  the  addi- 
tion of  corn  starch  or  other  binding  material.  It  has  the  advantage 
of  giving  a  large  amount  of  yeast  in  a  small  bulk,  but  care  is  needed  in 
keeping  it  because  it  deteriorates  rapidly  on  exposure  to  air  or  warmth. 

Home-made  yeasts  are  essentially  mixtures  of  flour,  water,  and 
potatoes,  with  the  dry  yeasts  found  in  the  market  or  with  other  yeast 
as  a  ' '  starter. ' '  Home-made  yeast  is  sometimes  made  into  cakes  as  is 
the  dry  yeast  of  the  market,  but  more  often  it  is  kept  in  liquid  form 
or  in  that  of  a  sponge.  Much  difficulty  has  arisen  in  the  use  and  care 
of  home-made  yeasts  because  of  a  failure  to  appreciate  the  fact  that 
yeasts  are  plants  and  therefore  require  conditions  favorable  for  plant 
growth.  Moreover,  careless  or  uncleanly  handling  of  the  yeast  in  re- 
gard to  the  vessel  in  which  it  is  kept  allows  bacteria  to  mingle  with  the 
yeasts.  As  these  multiply,  they  sometimes  give  an  unpleasant  flavor 
to  the  bread.  The  practice  of  keeping  a  bit  of  dough  in  the  flour 
barrel  as  a  ''starter"  is  not  to  be  commended,  and  the  woman  who  does 
not  understand  "why  this  yeast  that  made  such  good  bread  a  month 
ago  will  not  w^ork  now,"  will  find  a  probable  explanation  in  the  fact 
that  the  yeast  has  taken  from  the  potato  water,  or  the  flour  and 
sugar,  all  the  food  they  contained  for  the  yeast  plant  and  so  it  has  died 
from  starvation,  or  from  the  poisonous  effects  of  its  own  growth.  Mean- 
time the  bacteria  have  increased  in  number  and  given  an  acid  char- 
acter to  the  bread,  resulting  in  the  familiar  undesirable  sour  flavor  so 
characteristic  of  certain  home-made  breads. 

Miss  AVilliams'  experiments  confirmed  previous  work  done  in  this 
laboratory  in  regard  to  the  deterioration  of  home-made  yeasts  and 
seemed  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  way  to  maintain  such  yeasts  in 
good  condition  is  to  change  the  medium  frequently,  that  is,  make  the 
yeast  frequently — in  summer  as  often  as  twice  a  week — or  at  least  give 
the  plants  new  food  in  the  form  of  sugar  or  water  or  both,  and  keep 
in  a  cool  place.  Even  a  change  of  the  vessel  or  addition  of  water  gives 
air  and  apparently  revives  the  yeast. 

She  speaks  on  the  deterioration  of  yeasts  as  follows: 

*"The  quantity  of  bread  produced  seems  to  depend  to  a  large  extent  upon 
the  activity,  and  consequently  upon  the  age  of  the  yeast  cells,  those  being  neither 
new  nor  old  giving  best  results. 

"For  maintenance  of  a  healthy,  active  growth  of  yeast,  there  must  be  fre- 
quent change  of  the  medium  of  growth;  this  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  if 
allowed  to  remain  unchanged,  too  great  a  concentration  of  by-products  is  formed. 


*Miss  Williams'  Thesis,  p.  44. 


1913]  Some  Points  in  the  Making  and  Judging  of  Bread  IS 

Simmons'  paj's  'Yeast  cannot  ferment  healthily  when  surrounded  by  excess  of 
alcohol;  to  keep  in  active  state  yeast  must  bo  brewed  twice  a  week;  do  not  use 
sponge  after  the  fourth  or  fifth  day  in  any  case';  also,  'Yeast  in  sugar  water 
reaches  a  stage  where  it  will  not  continue  to  act  until  the  water  is  changed.' 
Lindet-  says  in  sul)stance,  the  process  of  refreshing  yeasts,  as  carried  on  by  the 
baker,  by  the  addition  of  flour  and  water  to  a  portion  of  the  dough,  is  less  for 
the  purpose  of  supjilying  the  yeast  new  food  than  for  helping  it  to  overcome  bac- 
terial or  acid  fermentation,  and  for  diluting  a  toxic  substance  whieli  Hayduck 
showed!  was  formed  at  the  expense  of  the  proteins  of  the  flour.  Manj  other  in- 
vestigators' speak  of  this  toxicity  of  flours  toward  yeasts.  In  addition  to  this 
necessity  for  change  because  of  harmful  by-products,  there  is  also  a  necessity  for 
oxygen,  and  yeast  action  is  accelerated  merely  by  change  from  one  vessel  to  an- 
other, air  being  introduced." 

QUANTITY  OF  YEAST 

One  objection  to  the  use  of  liquid  yeast  is  because  it  is  difficult,  if 
not  impossible,  to  determine  the  quantity  available  in  a  given  measure, 
as  a  cupful.  If  a  pound  of  compressed  j^east  is  secured,  one  may  es- 
tablish a  very  definite  relation  between  the  proportion  of  yeast  used 
by  starting  with  one-half  cake  per  loaf  and  increasing  the  amount 
regularly,  say  to  eight  cakes  per  loaf.  Experiments  of  this  kind 
showed  that  as  the  amount  of  yeast  increased,  the  time  of  rising  de- 
creased,— in  this  particular  instance  from  one  hour  and  fifty-five 
minutes  for  the  rising  with  one  cake  of  yeast,  to  one  hour  with  five 
cakes  per  loaf.  The  maximum  volume,  was  reached  in  loaves  G  and  H 
with  five  and  six  cakes  of  yeast,  respectively.    See  Plate  II. 

Excess  of  yeast  of  course  increases  the  cost  and  does  detract  from 
the  appearance  of  both  the  crumb  and  the  crust,  and  is,  therefore,  not 
to  be  commended.  While  excellent  results,  as  regards  texture,  time, 
and  tenderness,  may  be  attained  with  as  high  as  two  cakes  per  loaf, 
it  is  not  an  economical  procedure,  and  one-half  cake  is  ample.  More- 
over, experiments  show  that  if  sufficient  time  is  allowed,  a  small  quan- 
tity of  yeast  will  yield  as  good  results  as  a  much  larger  quantity. 

FLAVOR  BY  YEAST 

I  Excess  of  yeast  also  gives  increase  of  volume  and  of  crumbliness 
and  causes  some  loss  of  color  in  crust.  Its  influence  upon  the  flavor 
seems  to  be  an  unsettled  one,  though  the  common  opinion  seems  to  be 
that  an  excess  of  yeast  causes  a  loss  of  flavor.  People  frequently 
speak  of  the  yeasty  flavor  of  bread.  In  the  writer's  opinion  this  flavor 
is  due,  in  many  cases,  to  the  condition  of  the  yeast  or  the  material 


'Simmons,  "Book  of  Bread,"  pp.  48,  53,  54. 

-h.  Lindet,  "Role  of  Yeast  in  Baking,"  Compt.  rend.   150,  802-4. 

'Baker  and  Hulton,  "Toxicity  of  Flours  Towards  Saccharomyces  Cerevisiae, " 
and  "Behaviour  of  Wheaten  Flours  Towards  Baker's  and  Brewer's  Yeasts," 
Journ.  yoc.  Chem.  Ind.,  vol.  28,  p.  778. 


16 


University  of  Illinois  Bulletin 


[March, 


fi(M 


GQ 


03 

g 

a 
o 

o 

(H 
C5 


;^ 


pqrH 


§-«* 


1913] 


Some  Points  in  the  Making  and  Judging  of  Bbead 


17 


I 


Ha  00 


H«!» 


^3 

.9 

q 
o 

(H  C5«r> 


04 


i 


Ph-* 


eieo 


CO 


i&  UNIVERSITY  OF  Illikois  BULLETIN  [March, 

with  which  it  was  combined.  Corn  meal,  for  example,  will  grow  ran- 
cid and  give  a  bad  flavor  to  a  yeast  cake.  ^Miss  Wardall  failed  to  find 
that  the  flavor  was  influenced  by  yeast  in  good  condition,  while  Miss 
Williams'  experiments  seemed  to  show  a  deterioration  of  flavor  when 
more  than  three  cakes  per  loaf  were  used. 

Simmons  says: 

"Much  importance  is  placed  by  some  people  on  the  kind  of  yeast  used,  but 
on  the  same  principle  as  the  salt  and  vinegar,  the  yeast  is  not  added  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  give  a  direct  flavor  of  its  own.  In  fact,  any  flavor  is  chiefly  due  to 
the  amount  of  fermentation  that  the  yeast  is  allowed,  by  time  or  heat,  to  produce. 
When  the  system  of  straight  doughs  first  came  into  vogue  with  large  quantities  of 
yeast,  it  was  frequently  remarked  by  those  who  were  counselled  to  use  it  that 
such  larger  quantities  of  yeast  would  taste,  and  it  was  frequently  futile  for  the 
author  to  point  out  the  fallacy  of  such  a  statement.  The  indisputable  proof  to 
the  contrary,  however,  is  given  by  the  fact  that  bread  is  frequently  made  for  spe- 
cial purposes  with  even  five  pounds  of  yeast  to  the  sack,  and  has  no  yeasty  taste 
whatever  when  properly  managed,  in  fact,  not  merely  so  much  of  this  so-called 
yeasty  taste  as  in  the  case  of  very  much  less  yeast  under  other  conditions,  as,  for 
instance,  with  a  small  quantity  worked  a  long  time." 

LIQUIDS  USED 

There  are  two  points  to  be  considered  regarding  the  liquid  used  in 
bread,  viz.,  the  proportion  and  the  kind.  It  has  already  been  stated 
that  most  recipes  give  one  cup  of  liquid  to  three  of  flour  as  a  desirable 
proportion.  In  the  experiments  conducted  in  this  laboratory,  a  dif- 
ferent proportion  has  been  found  to  be  desirable.  Of  course,  exactness 
is  best  attained  by  weight  rather  than  by  measure.  Persons  have 
been  known  to  differ  about  one-half  cup  by  measure  for  the  same 
weight  of  flour.  Four  hundred  and  forty  grams — almost  one  pound 
or  3.6  cups — of  spring  wheat  flour  to  one  cup  of  liquid,  with  short 
process,  in  this  laboratory  has  been  found  to  give  most  satisfactory 
results  as  regards  shape,  size  and  general  characteristics  of  loaf.  A 
larger  proportion  of  liquid  gives  a  soft  dough  which  on  baking  is 
likely  to  be  slightly  flat  on  top,  to  seem  of  heavy  weight  with  a  ten- 
dency to  clamminess  of  crumb  and  coarseness  of  texture,  while  less 
liquid  yields  a  stiff  dough,  usually  a  loaf  rounded  on  top  and  of  finer 
texture,  with  a  tendency  to  crack  open  during  baking.  The  kind  of 
liquid  is  subject  to  perennial  interest  and  one  often  used  by  food 
faddists  who  praise  at  intervals  the  merits  of  buttermilk  bread,  of 
sweet  milk  bread,  and  of  potato  water  bread.  Experiments  seem  to 
show  that,  in  so  far  as  flavor  is  concerned,  no  liquid  is  better  than 
water.  Milk  and  potato  water  both  improve  the  keeping  quality,  con- 
tribute to  the  tenderness  of  the  crumb,  the  color  of  the  crust,  and  the 


lEuth  Wardall,  Master's  Thesis,  1907,  "The  Relation  of  Yeast  to  Flavor  in 
Bread,"  Journal  of  Home  Economies,  vol.  II,  p.  75. 


I9l3]  SOMK   I'OINTS    I.\   THE   MaKING    AND  JUDGING    OF  BrEAD  19 

elasticity.  Buttorniilk  lias  much  the  same  effect  as  milk  and  potato 
water  but  differs  from  them  in  the  fact  that  it  often  leaves  an  un- 
pleasant impression  after  tasting.  The  extravagant  claims  as  regards 
the  inci'case  in  nuti'itive  value  by  tlic  addition  of  milk  overlook  the 
fact  that  the  proportion  of  milk  used  is  small  and  that  chemical  analy- 
sis shows  the  composition  of  milk  to  be  87  percent  water.  The  addi- 
tion of  potato  water  may  introduce  an  undesirable  clement  if  the 
potatoes  are  old  or  not  well  Avashed.  On  the  whole,  it  seems  better  to 
add  the  cooked  potato  to  clean,  warm  water  i-ather  than  to  water  in 
which  old,  green,  and  possibly  unclean  potatoes  have  been  cooked. 

So  much  for  the  essential  ingredients  in  the  process  of  bread  mak- 
ing. The  non-essentials,  shortening,  sugar,  and  salt,  are  next  to  be 
considered  as  to  their  influence  on  the  product. 

Study  of  Non-Essential  Ingredients 

By  reference  to  the  table  on  page  12  it  will  be  seen  that  opinions 
differ  widely  concerning  the  use  of  the  non-essentials.  Five  omit 
shortening  entirely,  five  advise  three  teaspoonfuls  per  loaf,  while  the 
remaining  two  recipes  call  for  one  and  six  teaspoonfuls,  respectively. 
Just  the  exact  role  which  shortening  plays  in  the  process  is  not  known. 
It  is  supposed  to  give  tenderness  to  the  crumb  and  to  prevent  the  dry- 
ing out  of  the  bread.  The  use  of  shortening  is  not,  as  is  that  of  the 
other  non-essentials,  confined  to  the  interior  of  the  loaf.  It  is  a  quite 
common  practice  to  grease  the  dough  while  rising  to  prevent  the  for- 
mation of  a  hard  crust,  while  some  brsuh  lard  or  butter  over  the  hot 
loaves  when  first  taken  from  the  oven,  to  soften  the  crust.  This  latter 
process  seems  to  the  writer  undesirable  because  much  more  of  the  lard 
or  butter  is  likely  to  be  added  than  can  be  absorbed,  leaving  the  loaves, 
when  cooled,  greasy  and  unattractive.  Moreover,  this  process  detracts 
from  the  crispness  of  the  crust,  which  is  a  very  desirable  attribute. 
Fortunately,  more  data  is  available  concerning  the  use  both  of  sugar 
and  of  salt.  It  is  easy  to  show  that  both  of  these  substances  have  a 
very  material  influence  upon  the  flavor.  Some  people,  for  instance, 
like  the  very  sweet  taste  obtained  in  the  use  of  much  sugar,  while 
others  object  to  it  because  it  conceals  the  characteristic  flavor  of  the 
wheat  grain.  They  do  not  wish  their  bread,  by  its  flavor,  to  suggest 
cake. 

USE  OF  SALT 

Again  the  use  of  salt  to  avoid  a  flat  taste  is  very  general.  The  work 
done  by  Miss  «7cnsen  on  these  ingredients  seems  to  indicate  that  salt, 
as  is  to  be  expected  from  its  antiseptic  properties,  inhibits  the  growth 


20  University  of  Illinois  Bulletin  [March, 

of  the  yeast  and  therefore  retards  fermentation.  In  these  particular 
experiments,  two  teaspoonfuls  per  loaf  checked  it  three  and  one-half 
hours,  and  any  larger  amount  checked  it  entirely.  Moreover,  salt  af- 
fected both  the  weight  and  the  volume  of  the  loaf,  as  well  as  the  color 
of  the  crust  and  the  tenderness  of  the  crumb.  The  weight  increased 
with  the  increase  of  the  amount  of  salt,  while  the  volume  was  de- 
creased by  the  addition  of  more  than  one  teaspoonful  per  loaf.  The 
crust  lost  in  color  and  the  crumb  in  tenderness,  flavor,  and  texture 
when  more  than  one  teaspoonful  of  salt  per  loaf  was  used,  though 
flavor  and  texture  were  improved  by  the  use  of  this  amount. 

USE  or  SUGAR 

The  results  from  the  use  of  sugar  were  quite  different.  Sugar,  of 
course,  serves  as  a  food  for  the  yeast  plant  and  so  hastens  the  fermen- 
tation and  decreases  the  total  time  of  bread  making.  The  effect  upon 
the  volume  of  the  use  of  sugar  was  not  so  apparent  as  in  the  case  of 
the  use  of  salt,  but  it  was  quite  the  reverse,  for  with  sugar,  after  one 
teaspoonful,  up  to  four  or  six,  there  was  a  steady  gain  in  volume, 
while  with  the  salt  there  was  a  decrease  in  volume. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  effect  was  the  deepening  color  of  the 
crust  as  the  amount  of  sugar  was  increased.  The  best  results,  however, 
on  the  loaf  as  a  whole  in  regard  to  both  flavor  and  texture,  were  se- 
cured by  the  use  of  two  teaspoonfuls  per  loaf.  Any  excess  of  sugar 
beyond  this  amount  seemed  to  give  a  certain  toughness  to  both  crust 
and  crumb. 

SALT  AND  SUGAR 

These  data  concerning  the  influence  of  salt  and  sugar  used  separ- 
ately were  obtained  that  one  might  be  aided  to  form  an  intelligent 
idea  about  the  amount  to  be  used  in  combination  in  the  making  of 
bread.  Miss  Jensen  conducted  experiments  to  determine  the  combined 
effect  of  varying  proportions  of  sugar  and  salt  as  regards  (a)  the 
quality  of  the  bread,  and  (b)  the  volume  of  the  loaf.  Her  results  are 
given  below. 

" '  Examination  of  results  shows  that  when  the  proportion  of  salt,  1  tea- 
spoonful to  the  loaf,  remained  constant  as  the  proportion  of  sugar  added  was 
increased,  the  total  time  required  for  the  bread-making  process  was  greatly  de- 
creased. This  time  varied  from  7  hours,  30  minutes,  in  bread  which  contained 
no  sugar,  to  5  hours,  40  minutes,  in  bread  which  contained  4  teaspoonfuls  of 
sugar  per  loaf.  Results  also  show  that  when  the  salt  factor  was  increased  to  2 
teaspoonfuls  per  loaf,  the  fermentation  was  retarded,  as  was  to  be  expected,  more- 
over, fermentation  was  not  hastened  as  much  by  the  addition  of  sugar  as  it  was 
in  the  bread   containing  less  salt.     The  time  in  these  experiments  varied  from 

*Miss  Jensen's  thesis,  p.  48. 


191S] 


Some  Points  in  the  Making  and  Judging  of  Bread 


21 


fieo 


& 

o 

Eh    WtH 

O 

w 


<,Ho 


o 
o 


22 


Univebsitt  of  Illinois  Bulletin 


[March, 


pdOO 


po 


03 

m 
o 


pq(M 


H 


<jo 


s 


s 
o 

o 


1913\ 


yi  ME  Points  ix  the  Making  and  Judging  of  Bread 


23 


9  hours  and  45  minutes  in  broad  containing  no  sugar,  to  8  hours  and  30  nvinutes 
in  bread  containing  4  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar  per  loaf.  It  should  also  be  noted 
that  breads  containing  1  teaspoouful  of  salt,  and  2  and  4  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar, 
respectively,  per  loaf,  viz.,  loaves  D  and  E,  required  less  time  for  the  entire  pro- 
cess than  any  of  the  other  breads,  the  time  required  being  only  about  5%  hours. 

"It  is  also  evident  that  as  the  proportion  of  sugar  per  loaf  was  increased, 
the  salt  factor  remaining  constant,  there  was  an  increase  in  the  weight  of  the  loaf. 
The  increase  in  weight  was  greatest  in  bread  containing  2  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar 
per  loaf,  and  in  breads  containing  4  teaspoonfuls  per  loaf.  These  results  are 
analogous  with  those  recorded  in  Table  V.,  in  which  the  breads  containing  2,  4, 
6,  and  8  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar  per  loaf,  respectively,  showed  a  proportional 
increase  in  weight. 

"Salt,  up  to  one  teaspoonful  per  loaf,  and  sugar  up  to  4  teaspoonfuls  per  loaf, 
increased  the  volume.  It  is  interesting  that  the  loaf  of  greatest  volume  was  ob- 
tained by  the  relative  proportions  of  IV2  teaspoonfuls  of  salt,  and  3  teaspoonfuls 
of  sugar  per  loaf.     This  bread,  however,  was  not  the  best  in  quality. 


Plate  V.     Loaf  of  Largest  Volume 
Teaspoonfuls  Salt       1^2 
Teaspoonfuls  Sugar    3 


"When  scoring  these  breads,  the  majority  of  judges*  invariably  gave  the 
highest  score  to  breads  containing  1  teaspoonful  of  salt  and  2  teaspoonfuls  of 
sugar.  These  breads  were  always  excellent  in  shape,  with  a  beautiful  golden- 
brown  crust;  the  crumb  was  moist  yet  tender  and  elastic,  the  texture  tine  and 
even,  the  flavor  sweet  and  pleasing,  and  the  color  of  the  crumb,  a  creamy  white. 
Breads  containing  less  than  1  teaspoonful  of  salt  per  loaf  were  scored  low,  es- 
I)ecially  in  flavor  (such  breads  had  flat  taste) ;  those  containing  a  greater  pro- 
portion of  salt  than  1  teaspoonful  per  loaf  tasted  too  strongly  of  salt.  Other 
qualities  of  these  breads  were  likewise  inferior:  the  shape  of  such  loaves  was  lop- 
sided, the  crust  lieteriorated  in  ajjpearance,  the  crumb  tough,  coarse  in  texture  and 
poor  in  color;  breads  containing  less  than  2  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar  per  loaf 
were   lacking    in    flavor,    esjjecially    when    compared    with    breads    containing    the 


'Household  Science  Faculty,  University  of  Illinois. 


24 


University  of  Illinois  Bulletin 


[March, 


I 


M(N'* 


HcQ  IM 


n 

t> 

UJ 

ptHCNO 

o 

•<i 

H 

<1 

Wr^^ 

02 

^ 

O 

H 

O 

Q.-KM 

fe 

l« 

W 

M 

Mr-(0 

f> 

». 

i 

c  s 

OQCO 

pu 

Co     CO 

S   S 

«•-.•+-. 

s  s 

o  o 

o  o 

..    a-  a* 

^  =»    «9 

e  «  e 

O    'to    <to 

h^6-iH 

II 


191S] 


Some  Points  in  the  Making  and  Judging  op  Bread 


25 


ti^  C3  (M 


n3 
a> 
3 
a 

a 
o 


03 


;?;  i-i(M 


M  o 


w 


CQOQ 

00     »0 

^[? 

e  s 
o  o 
o  o 

S~,  00    CO 

c  Q  e 

o  <»  <o 


26  University  op  Illinois  Bulletin  [March, 

2   teaspoonfuls ;    more  than  this   amount   of  sugar  per   loaf,  however,  made  the 
bread  too  sweet. 

' '  From  the  results  of  these  experiments  the  proportions,  1  teaspoonf ul  of  salt 
and  2  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar,  per  loaf,  will  henceforth  be  considered,  by  the  writer, 
standard  amounts.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  not  one  of  the  twelve  recipes, 
tabulated  on  page  12,  designate  these  proportions  of  salt  and  sugar.  It  is 
of  further  interest  that  1  teaspoonful  of  salt  and  2  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar,  per 
loaf,  were  the  amounts  worked  out  for  the  tentative  recipe. ' ' 

t 

Bread  Making  and  Baking 

Two  very  important  parts  of  the  bread-making  process  yet  remain 
to  be  considered  after  the  character  and  relative  proportion  of  ingre- 
dients have  been  determined.  It  may  as  well  be  understood  that  bread- 
making  is  so  complex  a  process,  includes  so  many  factors,  that  the 
strictest  attention  to  detail  is  necessary  if  one  would  secure  an  ideal 
loaf  of  bread.  The  art  of  making  good  bread  is  attained  only  by 
those  who,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  attend  to  these  details.  It  is 
just  because  of  the  lack  of  this  attention  that,  to  so  many  housewives, 
the  process  of  making  bread  is,  as  it  were,  a  journey  into  the  great  un- 
known, from  which  she  emerges  with  a  lump  of  unsavory  dough,  sour, 
soggy  misshapen,  not  worthy  to  be  regarded  as  bread.  Under  the 
terms  making  and  baking  of  breads,  many  factors  could  be  discussed. 
A  few  of  the  most  important  ones  have  been  selected. 

making 

This  includes  careful  selection  of  materials,  correct  proportions, 
cleanliness  at  every  point,  suitable  utensils,  and  knowledge  of  the 
process  of  fermentation  and  of  the  right  waj^  to  manipulate  the  dough. 
If  one  understands  the  processes  involved  in  the  fermentation  of 
dough,  it  may  be  either  checked  by  cold  or  hastened  by  heat,  but  such 
changes  must  be  made  intelligently. 

The  temperature  best  adapted  to  the  growth  of  the  yeast  plant  is 
25°-35°  C.  (77°-95°  F.)  Hence  the  general  practice  obtains  of  keep- 
ing the  bread  warm,  but  ''warm"  is  a  very  indefinite  term.  The  in- 
vestment of  from  one  to  two  dollars  in  a  chemical  thermometer  would 
enable  the  housewife  to  dispense  with  this  uncertainty  of  temperature 
which  causes  so  much  havoc  in  many  household  operations,  including 
all  forms  of  baking  and  churning.  ''The  world  do  move."  It  may 
have  been  all  right  for  our  grandmother  to  have  tested  the  heat  of  the 
oven  by  singeing  the  hair  on  the  back  of  her  hand,  but  in  a  hundred 
years  someone  ought  to  have  been  shrewd  enough  to  have  found  a 
method  involving  less  discomfort  to  the  owner  of  the  hand,  as  well  as 
a  method  more  easily  interpreted  by  the  novice. 


1913]  Some  Points  in  the  Making  and  Judging  of  Bread  27 

METHOD  OF   PROCEDURE 

By  reference  to  the  general  method  of  procedure  (see  page  12) 
it  is  observed  that  both  water  and  flour  were  warmed  and  the  dough 
put  to  rise  at  a  given  temperature,  viz.,  26°  C.  (79°  F.).  Later,  experi- 
ments showed  that  a  variation  of  temperature  between  26°  and  35°  C. 
(78.8°-95°  F.)  did  not  perceptibly  affect  the  result.  Either  over-heat- 
ing or  chilling  of  bread  during  the  last  rising  seems  to  result  in  re- 
ducing the  volume  of  the  loaf,  making  the  crumb  tough  and  the  crust 
dull. 

TIME  OF  FERMENTATION 

This,  of  course,  depends  upon  the  process  used  in  making  the  bread. 
Where  the  whole  process  of  bread-making  is  completed  in  five  hours, 
the  total  time  of  the  rising  of  both  sponge  and  the  dough  in  the  pan 
is  perhaps  not  over  three  hours.  Where  the  long  process  is  used,  the 
yeast  cake  with  a  little  flour  started  at  noon,  it  may  be  twenty-four 
hours  before  the  process  is  completed.  Bakers  say  the  newer  the 
dough,  the  better  the  flavor  of  the  bread,  while  many  people  feel  that 
a  better  flavor  is  secured  by  a  long  fermentation.  To  their  minds  a 
certain  mellowing  and  blending  of  flavors,  which  they  prefer,  is  at- 
tained. It  is  certain  that  the  two  processes  produce  bread  differing 
considerably  in  elasticity,  grain  and  texture,  and  almost  always  in 
flavor.  The  longer  fermentation  allows  time  for  the  development  of 
acid  fermentation,  and  one  can  detect  its  presence  by  odor,  if  not  by 
taste,  in  almost  all  long-process  bread.  Such  bread  is  usually  lighter 
to  handle,  more  crumbly,  and  more  porous  than  short-process  bread. 
In  this  connection  the  writer  recalls  the  remark  of  a  baker  whose 
shop  she  was  visiting:  "Now  this  bread  I  lets  rise  seven  hours,  but 
this  bread,  madam,  I  makes  for  the  folks  who  wants  all  they  can  get 
for  their  money ;  I  gives  it  to  them.  I  lets  this  bread  rise  seventeen 
hours. ' ' 

This  seventeen-hoar  loaf  was  large,  coarse-grained,  over-light,  and 
sour,  to  both  taste  and  smell.  One  would  not  be  understood  as  con- 
veying the  impression  that  all  long-process  bread  is  sour,  but  rather 
that  there  is  much  greater  probability  that  it  will  be  sour  than  bread 
made  with  short  process.  In  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  it  is  more  dif- 
ficult to  secure  a  sweet-flavored  bread  by  the  long  process  than  by  the 
short.  Moreover,  much  depends  upon  the  treatment  of  the  dough  dur- 
ing the  rising  process.  Some  people  cut  it  down  occasionally  to  let 
out  the  gas ;  others  knead  it  two  or  three  times.  It  seemed  pretty  well 
established  by  these  experiments  that  while  two  risings  did  make  the 
bread  a  little  whiter  and  of  finer  grain,  the  third  rising  did  not  yield 


28  University  of  Illinois  Bulletin  [March, 

results  that  compensated  for  the  extra  time  and  trouble.  Miss  Wil- 
liams found  that  increased  time  of  fermentation,  with  frequent  let- 
ting out  of  gas,  gave  increasing  fineness  of  texture,  mellowness,  and 
pile.  When  the  gas  was  not  let  out  frequently  in  long  fermentation, 
silkiness  of  texture  was  obtained,  but  with  it  a  sour  flavor,  showing 
that  to  prevent  the  sour  flavor  in  the  long-process  bread,  the  dough 
must  be  frequently  kneaded  or  cut  down  to  allow  the  gas  to  escape. 
She  found  also  that  the  treatment  of  the  dough  in  the  pan  had  the 
most  influence  on  the  final  product,  not  only  in  regard  to  size  and 
shape,  but  also  in  texture  and  grain. 

BULK  OF  DOUGH 

The  bulk  to  which  the  dough  is  to  be  allowed  to  rise  in  the  pan  is 
an  important  factor  in  the  results.  The  general  rule  that  the  dough 
should  double  in  volume  seems  to  yield  the  best  results.  Invariably 
that  which  rose  to  three  times  the  bulk  gave  a  coarser  texture. 

BAKING 

The  temperature  and  time,  as  well  as  the  degree  of  lightness  at- 
tained before  the  baking  begins,  all  influence  the  general  results.  Know 
your  oven,  is  a  most  important  rule  for  the  baker.  Good  results  can 
be  attained  even  with  poor  tools  if  one  understands  how  to  manage 
them,  but  it  seems  to  the  writer  a  great  pity  that  women  are  not  more 
insistent  upon  good  tools.  No  one  article,  probably,  makes  for  econ- 
omy and  efficiency  in  the  home  more  than  a  really  good  stove  with  an 
ample  fire  box,  drafts  that  regulate  the  heat,  and  a  thick-walled,  well- 
insulated  oven  to  retain  the  heat.  Much  material  and  energy  is  worse 
than  wasted  by  attempting  to  work  with  a  poor  oven. 

The  novice  at  bread-making  will  find  it  easier  to  let  her  bread  rise 
to  double  its  bulk,  put  it  into  an  oven  hot  enough  to  set  it  at  once,  and 
then  slowly  reduce  the  temperature  and  bake  her  loaf  for  forty-five 
minutes  or  onel  hour,  according  to  size.  Carefully  conducted  experi- 
ments have  shown,  however,  that  if  one  allows  the  bread  to  rise  to  not 
quite  double  the  bulk,  then  puts  it  into  an  oven  at  a  temperature  of 
180°  C.  (356°  F.),  and  allows  it  to  rise  for  ten  minutes  as  the  tempera- 
ture slowly  rises  "to  220°  C.  (428°  F.),  a  well-shaped  loaf  with  a  good 
brown  crust  will  be  secured.  In  any  case,  the  temperature  of  baking 
must  be  conditioned  on  the  size  and  degree  of  lightness  of  the  dough. 


191S] 


Some  Points  ik  the  Making  and  Judging  of  Bread 


29 


1  MATERIAL  OF  BREAD  PANS 

Two  minor  points  in  reference  to  the  baking  of  bread  have  been 
given  considerable  attention  from  time  to  time  in  the  laboratories  of 
this  department,  viz.,  (1)  the  material  of  the  pan  used  in  baking,  (2) 
its  size  and  shape.  Miss  VanMeter  worked  with  pans  of  various  ma- 
terials and  summarized  her  results  as  follows : 

"Tn  order  to  observe  the  effect  upon,  the  Tireafl  of  the  material  of  the  pan 
used  in  bakinij,  three  ex])crinipnts  were  made,  using  single  loaf  pans  of  sheet  iron, 
granite  ware  and  tin.     The  pans  were  of  practically  the  same  size. 

"The  temi)€rature  used  in  baking  was  about  175°-200°C.  (347°-392°  F.) 
in  each  case. 

' '  In  every  instance  the  loaves  baked  in  the  tin  pan  had  a  satisfactory  crust, 
both  as  to  color  and  to  texture. 

"The  crust  of  the  loaves  from  the  sheet-iron  pan  showed  signs  of  over-baking. 
Otherwise  the  bread  was  satisfactory. 

"Each  loaf  baked  in  the  granite-ware  pan  had  a  hard  shiny  undercrust  which 
had  drawn  up  from  the  pan,  leaving  the  bottom  of  the  loaf  concave.  The  texture 
of  the  loaf  in  general  was  also  not  so  good  as  in  the  loaves  baked  in  tin  or  sheet- 
iron  pans. 

"Observations  were  also  made  of  student  work  in  bread  making  where  tin 
and  sheet-iron  pans  were  used  indiscriminately. 

"Of  twelve  loaves  made  by  different  individuals  and  baked  in  tin  pans,  eight 
were  first  class  as  to  general  appearance  and  crust. 

"Of  four  loaves  observed  which  had  been  baked  in  sheet  iron  pans,  none  were 
first  class  in  these  respects. 

"While  these  experiments  are  not  conclusive,  they  do  show  that  tin  pans  give 
satisfactory  results,  while  it  would  appear  that  if  either  granite  or  sheet-iron  pans 
are  used,  to  attain  the  same  results  the  oven  should  be  at  a  lower  temperature 
than  with  tin  pans." 

UNCOVERED  AND  COVERED  PANS 

"Four  experiments  were  made  using  pans  of  sheet-iron  9  inches  long,  4^ 
inches  wide,  and  2%  inches  deep.  The  covered  pan  was  made  by  hinging  to- 
gether two  pans  of  the  size  given. 

"Three  of  the  four  experiments  were  made  with  'quick  process'  bread, 
using  compressed  yeast  (1  cake  to  2  loaves).  The  fourth  was  'long  process' 
using  yeast  foam   ('^  cake).     The  flour  used  throughout  was  Pillsbury's  Best. 

' '  Temperatures  used  in  baking  were  as  follows : 


Experiment  I 

Experiment   II 

Experiment   III 

Experiment    IV 

°C. 

°F. 

°C. 

°F. 

°C. 

°F. 

"G. 

"F. 

Initial  temper 

ature 

182.22 

360 

204.44 

400 

256.65 

494 

200 

392 

In   I.')  minutes 

208.88 

408 

213.3 

410 

205.55 

402 

203.3 

398 

in  35  minutes 

200 

392 

187.75 

370 

202.2 

.... 

171.1 

340 

In  40  minutes 



390 

.    •    .    > 

In  50  minutes 

.... 

188.5 

.372 

.... 

.... 

"In  so  far  as  these  four  experiments  are  concerned,  the  following  facts  were 
observed : 

"The  flavor,  texture,  grain,  and  color  of  the  Ijread  were  not  affected  by  the 
pan  used. 

^Unpublished  data. 


30  University  of  Illinois  Bulletin  [March, 

"In  three  cases  the  loaf  baked  in  the  uncovered  pan  was  a  trifle  deeper  than 
that  baked  in  the  covered  pan. 

"In  three  cases  the  covered  loaf  weighed  a  trifle  (a  fraction  of  an  ounce) 
more  than  the  uncovered  loaf. 

' '  In  three  cases  the  crust  upon  the  covered  loaf  was  not  so  thick  as  that  upon 
the  uncovered.     This  was  true  at  the  high  temperature  used  in  Experiment  III. 

' '  In  all  cases  the  crust  upon  the  covered  loaf  was  of  better  appearance  and 
more  tender  to  the  knife." 

Various  people  have  worked  with  the  size  and  shape  o£  pans  and 
have  come  to  a  unanimous  agreement  that  it  is  desirable  to  have  the 
bottom  a  little  narrower  than  the  top.  The  slanting  rather  than  the 
straight  sides  are  preferred.  The  dimensions  found  most  satisfactory 
in  this  laboratory  are  8i/^  x3i/^  x  3  inches. 

Winter  Wheat  Flour 

This  discussion  has  dealt  only  with  spring  wheat  flour,  but  in  many 
parts  of  the  country  the  winter  wheat  flour  is  in  quite  general  use. 
In  fact,  excellent  authorities  say  that  the  best  bread  is  obtained  by  a 
careful  blending  of  flours  from  spring  and  winter  wheat.  Wiley^ 
speaks  of  a  "patent  and  family  flour  that  will  combine  the  strength 
and  the  quality  of  retaining  moisture  of  spring  wheat  flour  and  the 
sweetness  and  tenderness  of  the  winter  wheat,"  and,  again,  "but  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  very  best  bread  in  the  world  is  made  from 
the  soft  winter  wheat  of  France. "  It  is  well  known  that  many  bakers 
consider  that  winter  wheat  flour  makes  more  tender  biscuits  and  other 
forms  of  quick  breads. 

PROCESS  FOR  USE  OF  FLOUR  FROM  WINTER  WHEAT 

Miss  Jensen  worked  both  with  the  problem  of  blending  flours  and 
also  with  developing  a  satisfactory  process  for  making  bread  from 
winter  wheat  flour.  Th.e  process  used  in  the  experiments  with  spring 
wheat  flour  yielded  very  unsatisfactory  results  when  tried  with  win- 
ter wheat  flour.    She  summarizes  her  results  as  follows: 

^"Tt  appears  that  the  process  of  bread  making  from  winter  wheat  flour  dif- 
fers from  that  of  spring  wheat  flour  in  the  following  particulars: 

"(1)  Liquid. — For  a  given  weight  of  flour,  winter  wheat  requires  more 
liquid  per  loaf  than  spring  wheat  flour.  A  dough  from  winter  wheat  flour  should 
be  made  just  stiff  enough  to  hold  its  shape, — just  stiff  enough  to  spring  back 
with  the  touch  of  the  finger. 

"(2)  Manipulation. — A  winter  wheat  flour  dough  requires  three  risings; 
it  should  never  get  over-light;  it  should  rise  to  a  little  less  than  1%  times  its 
original  volume  in  the  last  rising. 


^H.   W.   Wiley,   "Foods   and   Food   Adulterants,"   Bulletin    13,   Division   of 
Chemistry,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  part  IX,  p.  1235. 
*Miss  Jensen 's  Thesis,  p.  67. 


1913]  Some  Points  in  the  Making  and  Judging  op  Bread  31 

"(3)  Baking.— Winter  wheat  flour  dough  should  ho  baked  at  180°-220''  C. 
(356°-428°  v.),  thus  allowing  it  to  finish  its  proving  in  the  oven.  The  dough 
can,  with  profit,  go  to  the  limit  of  fermentation  in  the  oven. 

"  (4)  Shape  of  loaf. — The  best  shaped  loaf  from  winter  wheat  flour  is  pro- 
duced by  allowing  the  dough  to  double  its  bulk  and  then  baking  at  220°  C. 
(428°  F.),  but  such  bread  is  not  of  good  quality. 

"(5)  Flavor. — Winter  wheat  bread  is  more  nutty  in  flavor  than  that  from 
spring  wheat. 

"  (6)  Time. — The  total  time  required  to  make  a  loaf  of  winter  wheat  bread 
in  these  experiments  was  less  than  that  necessary  to  make  a  loaf  of  bread  from 
spring  wheat  flour. ' ' 

Score  Cards  For  Bread 

Some  twelve  years  since,  the  writer  was  impressed  with  the  fact 
that  in  teaching  the  students  how  to  make  bread,  one  ought  to  set  be- 
fore them  a  standard  loaf  as  an  ideal  to  be  worked  for  in  the  making 
of  bread,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  give  some  measuring  unit  by  which 
they  might  judge  their  results.  She  had  been  impressed  b.y  the  use 
of  the  score  card  in  the  judging  of  butter  and  decided  to  develop  a 
similar  judging  card  for  bread. 

The  following  tentative  card  was  made  and  later  was  introduced 
into  the  work  of  the  ^Farmers'  Institute  by  Mrs.  S.  Noble  King,  then 
President  of  the  Woman's  Department  of  the  Farmers'  Institute.  The 
maker  of  the  score  card  expected  that  radical  changes  would  be  made 
in  it  very  soon  after  its  adoption,  for  she  realized  that  it  had  many  de- 
fects, but,  for  one  reason  or  another,  it  has  been  modified  only 
slightly,  either  by  the  Farmers'  Institute  or  by  the  Department  of 
Household  Science,  and  there  seems  abundant  evidence  that  it  has 
been  useful  in  calling  attention  to  and  improving  the  quality  of  the 
bread  in  regions  where  it  has  been  used.  Other  states  have  found  the 
method  desirable,  so  that  many  modifications  of  this  pioneer  score 
card  are  now  to  be  found  . 

ORIGINAL  score  CARD  OP   MISS  BEVIER 

I  Flavor   35 

Lightness 15 

Grain  and  Texture 30 

(■Color                1 
Crust    -l  Depth  ' 5 

iTexture  J 

Crumb  i?"!^'",.  i 5 

I  Doughincss     C 

Shape  and  size 5 

Moisture   5 

Total    100 


*Year  Book  of  the  Illinois  Association  of  Domestic  Science,  1904,  p.  55. 


32  University  of  Illinois  Bulletin  [March, 

REVISED  BREAD  SCORE   CARD 

DEPARTMENT  OF  HOUSEHOLD  SCIENCE 

ILLINOIS  farmers'  INSTITUTE 

Flavor 35 

Lightness     15 

Grain  and  texture 20 

rColor               ^ 
Crust    ^  Depth  > 10 

iTexturc  J 

Cr°-MMi,re        [ '» 

Shape  and  size 10 

Total    100 

The  author  of  the  pioneer  score  card  is  glad  to  publish  in  this  con- 
nection those  suggested  by  Miss  Jensen  and  Miss  Williams. 

SUGGESTED  SCORE  CARD  OF  MISS   WILLIAMS 

"From  a  study  of  score  cards  used  in  other  institutions,  and  experience  in 
judging  the  qualities  of  bread  by  the  on©  in  use  in  this  Department,  the  fol- 
lowing score  card  is  suggested. 


( 


Points 

40  I^lavor  j  ^^^^^     20 


Odor    20 

Taste     20 

Texture     10 

Moisture 10 


Texture     10 

30  CrumbJ  Lightness    5 

I  Color  5 

r  Color  5 

20   Crust  J  Depth    5 

Crispness    5 

L  Texture     5 

10 General  appearance  of  loaf  I  Size   5 

I  Shape    5 

"Note. — To  be  of  good  texture  a  loaf  must  be  of  fine  and  regular  mesh, 
and  of  tender,  elastic  crumb." 

SUGGESTED  SCORE  CARD  OF   MISS  JENSEN 


30   Flavor 


40     Crumb 


Odor    15 

■   Taste     15 

Texture     8 

Color 8 

Tenderness     8 

Elasticity   8 

Moisture 8 

r  Crust 10 

30   General  nppearanee  J  gj^g     jo 

I  Shape 10 

"It  will  be  noted  that  in  making  her  score  card  the  writer  has  omitted  the 
terms  'lightness'  and  'grain';  she  considers  that  texture,  meaning  the  even  dis- 
tribution of  air  cells  in  comparison  with  the  solid  matter,  includes  lightness; 
likewise  crumb  includes  grain.  Hence,  the  terms  '  grain '  and  '  lightness '  are 
dropped.  Then  again  she  considers  that  the  texture  applies  directly  to  the  crumb 
and  so  it  is  placed  under  that  head. 


1013]  Some  Points  in  the  Making  and  Judging  of  Bread  33 

"In  addition  to  the  tornis  applyinfj  to  the  ernnih,  the  writer  has  added 
tenderness,  elasticity,  and  moisture;  the  importance  of  projier  liakinj^  is  thus  em- 
phasized, as  these  qualities  are  largely  dependent  upon  the  baking. 

"General  appearance,  including  crust,  size  and  shape,  are  given  a  separate 
heading  and  a  large  score;  the  writer  thinks  that  by  emphasizing  especially  the 
size  and  shape  of  the  loaf,  the  housewife  will  solve  more  quickly  the  problem 
of  making  ideal  bread,  since  the  doughiness  and  sogginess  are  apt  to  accompany 
large,  misshapen  loaves. 

"It  is  considered  that  flavor  will  follow  as  a  sequence  of  the  qualities  enum- 
erated in  the  writer's  score  card,  so  il  is  given  a  lower  score  than  appears  in  the 
Illinois  Bread  Score  card." 

^Simmons  gives  the  following  table: 

SIMMONS'    SCORE    CARD 

THE  WAY  POINTS  HAVE  USUALLY  BEEN   ALLOCATED 
AT   EXHIBITIONS 

English,  Welsh  and  Irish  Scotch 

Formerly  licccnihj 

Flavor   20  25  15 

Color  (2)  Of   crust    20  ..  10 

(1)  Of  crumb 20  25                              5 

Texture    20  25  10 

Volume    20  25  10 

Maximum    100  100  50 

REVISED  SCORE  CARD  OF  MISS  BEVIER 

The  writer  of  this  bulletin  offers  tlic  following  modification  of  her 
original  score  card  with  the  explanation  following. 

General  appearance .20 

Size  (5) 

Shape        (5) 

Crust       (10) 

Color 

Character 

Depth 

Flavor    35 

Odor 
Taste 

Lightness    15 

Crumb    30 

Character     (20) 
I  Coarse — fine        "| 

Tough-tendor    I      ^ 
Moist — dry  I 

Elastic  or  not     > 
Color     (5) 
Grain — Distribution  of  gas  (5) 

Total    100 

EXPLANATION  OF  REVISED  SCORE  CARD 

General  appearance  is  placed  first  simply  because  it  comes  first 
in  the  order  of  impressions  which  the  loaf  makes  upon  the  eye.    More- 
'Book  of  Bread,  p.  81. 


34  University  of  Illinois  Bulletin  [March, 

over,  in  judging  a  loaf  one  cuts  it  and  thereby  may  destroy  its  shape. 

Crust. — The  color  and  character  of  the  crust  enter  into  the  general 
appearance  and  are,  therefore,  grouped  with  it.  The  characteristics 
of  a  good  crust  are  given  on  page  10  and  may  be  summarized  as  fol- 
lows :  brightness  of  bloom  or  color,  crisp,  crackl}^,  pliable,  and  smooth, 
(coarse,  grainy  crust  means  bad  molding). 

Flavor. — In  all  the  early  work  with  bread,  it  seemed  most  desir- 
able to  emphasize  flavor  because  there  was  so  much  bread  that  looked 
very  well  and  yet  was  really  sour  both  in  odor  and  to  the  taste.  More- 
over, the  author  feels  that  emphasis  should  be  put  upon  flavor  in  all 
foods.  The  teacher  habit  acquired  through  the  years  of  teaching  in- 
clines her  to  indicate  at  once  as  "below  passing"  or  unworthy  of  fur- 
ther consideration,  any  bread  that  is  conspicuously  "off"  in  flavor. 
Flavor  is  made  up  of  the  two  elements,  odor  and  taste.  A  well-trained 
nose  will  detect  in  the  freshly  cut  loaf  the  lack  of  flavor  or  the  ap- 
proach to  sourness  before  it  can  be  detected  by  taste. 

The  degree  of  fermentation,  the  quality  and  condition  of  the  flour, 
and  the  amount  and  character  of  the  added  substances,  all  modify 
flavor,  but  the  ideal  is  the  flavor  obtained  by  chewing  the  wheat  grain. 

Lightness. — This  is  a  quality  best  shown  in  the  loaf  though  made 
up  of  many  elements.  It  is  often  judged  by  size,  by  apparent  weight, 
by  presence  or  absence  of  holes,  by  crumbliness,  and  these  points  do 
enter  into  the  judging  of  lightness.  Possibly  the  volume  per  weight  of 
materials  used  would  be  more  correct,  but  it  is  not  easy  for  the  home 
maker  to  determine  volume. 

Crumh. — A  very  large  part  of  the  value  of  a  loaf  of  bread  is  deter- 
mined by  the  condition  of  the  crumb.  The  author  has  given  the  points 
in  judging  the  crumb  in  great  detail  because  in  previous  work  she  has 
found  much  confusion  regarding  the  term  texture.  She  hopes  in  this 
arrangement  she  has  indicated  in  detail  the  elements  that  enter  into 
the  formation  of  texture.  The  Book  of  Bread  gives  the  following  defi- 
nition for  it :  "  Texture  can  be  defined  as  being  the  disposition  or  con- 
nection of  interwoven  threads  or  fibers,"  and  again,  "A  loaf  to  be  of 
good  texture  must  not  only  be  of  fine  and  regular  mesh  but  also  of 
soft,  pliable  and  springy  crumb,  that  is,  not  coarse  to  look  at,  nor  hard 
or  unyielding  to  the  thumb  when  pressed,  nor  yielding  too  much." 

If  a  thin  slice  of  bread  be  looked  at  by  placing  it  between  the  ob- 
server and  the  light,  the  mesh  and  the  distribution  of  the  gluten  walls 
can  be  seen  easily. 

Grain. — There  is  very  general  agreement  that  by  grain  is  meant 
the  distribution  of  the  gas  cavities,  also  their  size  and  number.  This, 
too,  may  be  seen  in  the  thin  slice  when  examining  texture. 


lOlJ]  Some  Points  in  the  Making  and  Judging  of  Bread  35 

Elasticity  is  perhaps  best  shown  in  the  half  loaf  by  pressing  the 
cut  edges  together  and  seeing  if  they  resume  the  original  position 
when  the  pressure  is  removed. 

Summary 

Bread  making  is  an  important  industry  for  Avomen  because  seven 
tenths  of  the  broad  used  is  made  at  home.  In  this  fact  lies  the  oppor- 
tunity and  responsibility  to  influence  the  standard. 

Lack  of  knowledge  of  difference  in  bread-making  qualities  of  flour 
from  spring  and  winter  wheat  is  very  prevalent.  The  flour  may  bo 
distinguished  by  color,  feel,  quality,  and  quantity  of  gluten.  Chemi- 
cal composition  of  wheat,  flour,  and  bread,  shows  that  there  is  a  gain 
in  the  proportion  of  water,  and  a  loss  in  the  proportion  of  protein  and 
starch  in  converting  wheat  into  flour  and  flour  into  bread. 

Characteristics  of  good  bread  are  symmetry  of  size  and  shape, 
bloom  of  crust  as  well  as  crispness,  and  a  tender,  elastic  crumb  of  fine 
grain. 

Kecipes  differ  widely  as  regards  non-essentials,  sngar,  salt,  and 
chortening,  but  agree  as  to  the  proportion  of  one  cup  of  liquid  to 
three  of  flour.  Yeast  is  a  plant,  and  so  is  subject  to  laws  of  plant 
growth  as  regards  food  and  moisture.  If  in  good  condition,  yeast 
probably  does  not  influence  the  flavor  of  bread. 

Water  is  the  best  liquid  as  regards  flavor.  Because  of  the  small 
proportion  used  and  the  fact  that  almost  any  form  of  milk  is  largely 
water,  little  effect  is  produced  by  the  use  of  skim  milk  or  buttermilk. 
Both  seem  to  contribute  to  tenderness  of  crumb. 

Salt  prevents  a  flat  taste,  retards  fermentation,  and,  used  to  ex- 
cess, causes  loss  of  color  in  crust  and  of  tenderness  in  crumb. 

Sugar  darkens  the  color  of  the  crust.  Within  limits,  it  increases 
the  volume  of  the  loaf. 

Salt  and  sugar  combined  in  proportion  of  one  to  two  respectively 
improve  the  flavor  and  the  volume. 

Bread  making  is  an  art  that  demands  careful  attention  to  certain 
essential  details  such  as  the  character,  temperature,  and  amount  of  the 
yeast,  condition  and  amount  of  the  flour,  time  and  temperature  of  fer- 
mentation and  baking. 

Material  of  pans  is  a  question  of  choice.  Tin  seems  to  yield  best 
results  in  common  practice.  Covered  and  uncovered  pans  have  not 
been  tried  enough  for  definite  conclusions. 

The  process  for  winter  wheat  flour  differs  from  the  process  for 
spring  wheat  flour  in  that  winter  Avheat  requires  more  liquid,  a  slacker 
dough,  is  much  better  with  three  risings  instead  of  two,  and  should 
be  allowed  to  finish  proving  in  the  oven. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


3  0112  096200503 


'i'mi 


■•-'■xis 


